Blak & Bright First Nations Literary Festival acknowledges the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation as the traditional custodians of the sacred lands on which we work. We pay our respects to the people of the Kulin Nations and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, past present and future.
We recognise all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first storytellers; and that knowledge transfer through storytelling is imbedded in the very DNA of this Country.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.
Six brilliant poets read poems from their oeuvre, building to a crescendo of Blak verse. With Graham Akhurst, Jeanine Leane, Kirli Saunders, Laniyuk, Neika Lehman, Nadine Anne Hura, Yvette Holt.
In partnership with Australian Poetry via the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
Free – booking essentials
Book your tickets via the Wheeler CentreYou will be redirected to wheelercentre.com to purchase your ticket.
Brisbane born Yvette Henry Holt heralds from the Bidjara, Yiman and Wakaman Nations of Queensland. A multi-award-winning poet, academic, editor, national facilitator of First Nations literature, and social landscape photographer, Yvette has lived and worked in the greater region of the Australian Central Deserts for some fourteen years. Chairperson of FNAWN First Nations Writers Network,…
Laniyuk is a Larrakia, Kungarakan, Gurindji and French political creative whose art practise is grounded in cultural, language and land reclamation. She writes and performs poetry, speculative fiction, short memoir and is a visual artist. She gives lectures, moderates panels and runs workshops. Having recently completed Garuwa and Doc Society’s First Nations Impact Lab Laniyuk is interested in…
Neika Lehman is a writer & RMIT Vice Chancellor’s Indigenous Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow in Creative Writing, School of Media & Communication. Their poetry, essays and criticism appear in NANGAMAY dream MANA gather DJURALI grow: First Nations Australia LGBTQIA+ Poetry, Best Australian Poems 2023, un Mag, Art + Australia, The Saturday Paper, Cordite, Overland, Australian Poetry Journal among others….
Graham Akhurst is a Kokomini writer who grew up in Meanjin. He is a Lecturer of Indigenous Studies and Creative Writing at UTS. Graham began his writing journey in a hospital bed in 2011. He read and started journaling between treatments for Endemic Burkett Lymphoma. As a Fulbright Scholar, Graham took his love for writing…
Nadine Anne Hura is a poet, essayist and zine-maker from Aotearoa, New Zealand. She descends from two rivers; the Mersey in England on her mother’s side, and Waiomio (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) on her father’s. Nadine’s work has appeared in a number of publications and anthologies, including Huia Short Stories, Ora Nui, E-Tangata, Vā, The Best…
Jeanine Leane is a Wiradjuri writer, poet and academic from southwest New South Wales. Her poetry, short stories, critique, and essays have been published in Hecate: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Women’s Liberation Australian Poetry Journal, Antipodes, Overland and the Sydney Review of Books. Jeanine has published widely in the area of Aboriginal literature, writing otherness,…
Kirli Saunders (OAM) is a proud Gunai Woman who rarely stays in her lane. She’s an award winning multidisciplinary artist, writer, singer-songwriter and consultant. Kirli creates, to connect, to make change. She was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her contribution to the arts (2022). Kirli has partnered with global organisations including Google, Fender, Sydney…
